With the Senior Bowl practices over and the Super Bowl on the horizon, the full NFL draft picture is beginning to come into focus. The Super Bowl will finalize April’s NFL draft order, and the next big event for the prospects comes at the NFL Scouting Combine. With the picture becoming more clear, Eric Edholm of NFL.com has dropped his first mock draft of the season.
It seems like prognosticators are mostly split down the middle on what the Minnesota Vikings will do with the 11th pick in the draft, with roughly half assuming they’ll select a quarterback and the other half opting to give them help on the defense. That’s the direction Edholm took, giving the Vikings former Florida State EDGE Jared Verse. Here’s Edholm’s breakdown of the selection:
It’s no guarantee, of course, but if the Vikings can re-sign Kirk Cousins, addressing the defensive front might be the next order of business. I could see Minnesota adding multiple pieces up front, depending on what happens with another pending free agent in Danielle Hunter. Verse is an athletic tone-setter who would pass the Brian Flores test for toughness and aggression.
As Edholm rightly points out, if Danielle Hunter isn’t back with the team next season, it opens a major hole in what was a much improved defense in 2023. Verse would immediately come in and help fill that void. It’d be unfair to expect him to duplicate Hunter’s production right away, but Verse certainly has the traits to be a successful pass rusher in the NFL.
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